Seasonal figures below use a 2025 reference year. Choose a date in the planner above for that day’s times, golden hour, twilight, and daylight milestones.
Seasonal Sun Milestones in Chicago
Chicago's 8 PM sunsets run from about May 11 to August 8 — 90 evenings in a typical year. The wider season of sunsets at 7 PM or later lasts 183 days, from March 17 to September 15. At the other end of the year, sunsets before 4:30 PM begin around November 16 and last until December 30.
Days in Chicago first reach 12 hours of daylight around March 17, a few days before the March equinox, and drop back under 12 hours after September 25. Days with at least 15 hours of daylight run from May 31 to July 11. Days with less than 10 hours of daylight run from November 10 to January 30 (82 days).
The Sun's rising point moves along the horizon too. Around the June solstice it rises in the ENE (57°) and sets in the WNW (303°); by the December solstice it rises in the ESE (121°) and sets in the WSW (239°). That is a 64° swing — worth knowing when choosing a west-facing viewpoint for a summer sunset or an east-facing window for winter morning light.
Dates use the 2025 reference year. Clock-time milestones near daylight-saving changes move with the second Sunday in March and the first Sunday in November.
Daylight Through the Year in Chicago
Chicago sits at 41.84°N, a mid-latitude position that gives it a balanced but noticeable seasonal rhythm. The difference between its longest and shortest day is 6h 5m.
On the summer solstice around June 21, Chicago receives 15h 13m of daylight — the longest day of the year. By the winter solstice around December 21, that shrinks to 9h 8m, the shortest day. At the spring and autumn equinoxes, day and night are nearly equal at about 12h 10m, as they are everywhere on Earth.
Sunset moves fastest around September, when it shifts by up to 1.7 minutes a day in Chicago, and barely moves for weeks around the solstices. See how sunrise and sunset change through the year for why.
The Sun's Path Over Chicago
Where the Sun sits in the sky over Chicago depends on the season, and the contrast between summer and winter is set by the city's latitude of 41.84°N. On the summer solstice the midday Sun reaches 71.6° above the horizon in Chicago, its highest point of the year. On the winter solstice the midday Sun only reaches 24.8°, sitting much lower in the southern sky and casting long shadows even at noon.
Those roughly 47 degrees separating the summer and winter midday Sun are exactly what give Chicago its seasons.
The live sun path at the top of this page shows the Sun's altitude and compass bearing for the current moment or any chosen date.
Earliest and Latest Sunrises and Sunsets in Chicago
It is natural to assume Chicago sees its latest sunset on the longest day of the year, but it does not. The latest sunset actually falls around June 26 at about 8:30 PM, while the earliest sunset comes around December 8 at roughly 4:20 PM — noticeably before the December solstice.
On the morning side, the earliest sunrise in Chicago is around June 14 at 5:15 AM, and the latest sunrise around November 1 at 7:24 AM. The equation of time and daylight saving pull these dates away from the solstices — explained in why the latest sunset isn't on the longest day.
How Daylight Saving Time Moves Sunrise and Sunset in Chicago
Chicago, Illinois changes its clocks twice a year, and both changes are visible in this page's numbers. On the second Sunday in March, Chicago springs forward and the evening changes overnight: sunset jumps from about 5:50 PM on Saturday to about 6:51 PM on Sunday. The price is paid at dawn — sunrise slips from around 6:14 AM back to 7:12 AM, so mornings turn dark again just as they were brightening.
The reverse comes on the first Sunday in November, when clocks fall back: sunset drops from about 5:45 PM to 4:43 PM in a single day — the abrupt start of the early-dusk season — while sunrise brightens from around 7:24 AM to 6:25 AM.
Only the clock label shifts on those Sundays; the times above are for a typical year. More in how daylight saving time changes sunrise and sunset.
Golden Hour & Blue Hour Photography in Chicago
For photographers in Chicago, Illinois, the planner shows your selected date's morning and evening golden-hour and blue-hour windows. Choose Today, Tomorrow, or a date in the calendar; all clock times are calculated in Chicago's local timezone.
Golden "hour" is a misnomer — its length in Chicago depends on the season, because it lasts as long as the Sun takes to climb from the horizon to 6° (or descend back). Around the equinoxes it runs about 37 minutes; near the June solstice, when the Sun rises and sets at a shallower angle, it stretches to roughly 42 minutes, and near the December solstice it lasts about 45 minutes.
See the golden hour guide and blue hour guide for how to plan a shoot around these windows.
Solar Energy Potential in Chicago
Under clear skies, Chicago, Illinois receives about 4.9 peak sun hours per day averaged across the year — from roughly 1.7 in December up to 8.2 in June. One peak sun hour equals one hour of sunlight at full intensity (1 kW/m²), the standard unit for estimating solar panel output.
Because Chicago sits at 41.8°N, a fixed, south-facing panel captures the most energy over the year when tilted at roughly 42° from horizontal — about equal to the latitude. If you adjust the tilt seasonally, flatten to about 27° in summer, when the Sun rides high, and steepen to about 57° in winter, when it stays low.
These are clear-sky upper bounds from Chicago's solar geometry, not a forecast; clouds, shading, and equipment lower real output. See what peak sun hours mean.
How Chicago Compares
Daylight in Chicago swings 6h 5m between the June and December solstices. The median across the 1,847 cities on this site is 5h 16m, so the seasons move the clock 49m further in Chicago than in a typical American city. By that measure Chicago ranks 371st of 1,847 nationally, and 50th of the 88 Illinois cities listed here — counting from the largest swing down.
Chicago sits about 2.3° east of 90°W — the meridian Central Time is built around. Longitude alone therefore puts mean solar noon roughly 9 minutes before clock noon in standard time, so the Sun runs ahead of the clock here. The equation of time then moves true solar noon up to about 16 minutes either side of that through the year.
About Sun Times in Chicago
Chicago, Illinois, has an estimated urban-area population of 8,609,571. Its primary county or equivalent is Cook; its center is at 41.84°N, 87.69°W. Clocks here follow Central Time, which is the timezone all sunrise, sunset, golden-hour and twilight times on this page are shown in.
Times are computed for Chicago's city-center coordinates, so towns to the east see each event slightly earlier and towns to the west slightly later; the nearby-cities list above shows the typical gap.